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Detailing The Uniform

by
Staff Writer
/ Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals made their NHL debut during the 1974-75 season with an all-American inspired red, white and blue color scheme. The Capitals sported white jerseys with red shoulders for home games and wore red jerseys with white shoulders on the road. The chest of the jerseys was adorned with the word “Washington,” spelled in all capital letters, and the team’s logo, a simple yet distinguished Capitals wordmark that featured a hockey stick in the place of the “t.” Stars lined the upper torso region and the sleeves of the jersey. The bottom of the jerseys was striped with a red, white and blue piping.

The Capitals wore blue pants for home games and white pants for road games. The white pants quickly became a hot-button issue – perspiration left them discolored – and the league granted the team mid-season approval to wear blue pants on the road for the rest of the year.

The white pants never returned and for the next 20 years—with the exception of only a few modifications—the Capitals had a distinct uniform that was recognized throughout the league. Red, white and blue became the colors that defined “Caps hockey,” and the team made the playoffs the last 13 years it wore the uniform.

All of that changed on June 22, 1995—12 years to the day before the latest uniform change—when the team unveiled new uniforms with a new logo and color scheme. Red, white and blue was out and blue, black and bronze was in. The Capitals signature wordmark logo was replaced by an eagle with its beak open, talons out and ready to attack.

The team’s home white jersey had a thick black stripe outlined in bronze and white on the sleeves and a stripe resembling a checkmark above the waist. The jersey was blue beneath the stripes on the sleeves and the waist.

The blue road jersey had identical markings but was blue on both sides of the stripes. Both jerseys featured the new eagle logo on the chest and the word “Capitals” spelled out in capital letters in the black stripe above the waist. Washington wore black pants both at home and on the road.

The Capitals wore these jerseys for two seasons before making a slight change to the white jersey and adding a third alternate black jersey for the 1997-98 season. The word “Capitals” was removed from the front of the white jersey, but remained on the road blue jersey.

The new third jersey was introduced on Jan. 25, 1998 and worn nine times during the year. The new jersey was black with a bronze, blue and white stripe on the sleeves and an identical horizontal stripe above the waist.

Besides the black color the team also moved the shoulder patch logo to the more prominent position on the chest. The logo featured the word “Capitals,” (spelled with capital letters) underneath the top of the domed U.S. Capitol building and in front of two crossed hockey sticks. The logo was completed with two stars in the background and a hockey puck nested between the blades of the sticks. The traditional eagle logo became the shoulder patch for the third jersey.

Washington wore these three jerseys for three seasons before replacing the blue jersey permanently with the black jersey for the 2000-01 season. The Capitals wore the black and white jerseys from the 2000-01 season through the 2006-07 season.

Significant Notes About Washington Capitals Uniforms

1974-75

The team wears red, white and blue uniforms during its inaugural year in the NHL.

1980-81

The “WASHINGTON” above the Capitals wordmark logo is reduced in size.

1983-84

The number of stars on the sleeves is reduced from five to four

1985-86

The number of stars on the sleeves is increased back to five.

June 22, 1995

The team changes its colors and uniforms to blue, black and bronze

1995-96

The first year of the blue, black and bronze jerseys. The word "CAPITALS" appears below the eagle the home and road jerseys.

1997-98

The word "CAPITALS" only appears on the road jerseys. A black third jersey is added and is worn for the first time on Jan. 25, 1998. The jersey, which is worn nine times during the season, has arched letters for the nameplate.

2000-01

The black jersey replaces the road blue jersey and team now only has two jerseys. The nameplate letters on the black jersey are no longer arched.

2003-04

The team switches to wear black jerseys at home and white jerseys on the road.

June 22, 2007

The team changes its colors and uniforms back to red, white and blue

Commemorative Patches Worn by the Washington Capitals for the entire season